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The Women’s Initiative: Going Mobile and Connecting Women

I am proud to announce that the FCC's International Bureau has launched a new Women’s Initiative which will leverage the experience, resources, and connections of the international ICT community to improve the status of women, their communities, and their countries.

During my trip to East Africa in 2011, I saw first hand the potential power of ICT collaboration and its impact on women and their communities. The same realities were true during my trips to Ghana, Senegal, and Gambia the year before where I saw the exponential increase in the usage of mobile phones in Africa and the doors that connectivity open for users. Our hope is to use the Women’s Initiative as a means of promoting mobile applications, connecting mobile application creators, and encouraging the creation of new mobile applications specifically targeted to women. We want this Women’s Initiative to help the global community make applications more flexible and adaptable to the changing technological needs of women. We hope to connect leaders at various companies, government agencies and NGOs in order to leverage resources to improve the lives of women.

During my travels in Africa, I also had the incredible opportunity to meet with key NGOs like the Southern African NGO Network, which is already promoting the strategic use of ICTs for socio-economic development and poverty eradication in that part of the world. In addition to that, we anticipate facilitating women’s access to useful and practical applications through this effort.

Tell us what you think. Send suggestions about who we should work with. Share your thoughts on who our target audience should be, and once we reach them, what information, support and resources would be most useful. What do you believe is the best way to design or use WISENET? Should it be used as a clearinghouse for information and resources, a forum for discussion, or something else? How can we incorporate social media tools to reach more people and advance the initiative?

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,” stated former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. And it is in this spirit of hope and commitment that I invite you to participate in what will be an incredible initiative. Its success will only be actualized through collaborative engagement. Join us.